Chapter 72: Hostage
“Human Sovereign Jiang?!”
Even though his appearance had changed, the three of them immediately recognized Jiang Li’s voice from his tone and speech.
“Y-You… Why are you here?”
“I heard the Heaven’s Kill Pavilion had its eyes on you, so I came to watch the show.” Jiang Li chuckled.
“Huh? The Long Clan sent assassins after us?” The three were shocked. They hadn’t expected the Long Clan to go this far.
“They’re after you two. This has nothing to do with Song Ying,” Jiang Li corrected.
The three immediately understood—the Long Clan wanted to kill the master and disciple while taking Song Ying for themselves.
“So, what exactly did you do to provoke the local tyrants?” Jiang Li asked with interest.
Yuan Wuxing recounted the entire incident from an outsider’s perspective, with Qin Luan and Song Ying occasionally adding details.
“Right now, the Long Clan has their people stationed around Longyin City, lying in wait to ambush us. I can escape on my own, but I’m not confident I can protect Qin Luan and Song Ying,” Yuan Wuxing explained.
“The Long Clan’s Soul Formation Patriarch won’t bother with something this trivial, so they can only send Nascent Soul cultivators to take us down. But they also fear that, in my dying moments, I might drag one of their Nascent Soul elders down with me. That would be too high a price for them to pay.
“We’re stuck in a deadlock, and I was wondering what their next move would be. Turns out they sent assassins!”
Jiang Li had already guessed most of it before Yuan Wuxing even finished speaking. It was the same old story—some young master from a powerful clan tries to abduct a girl in broad daylight, a righteous youth steps in, and the conflict escalates.
“You guys… You’re still too naive, too bound by Great Zhou’s way of doing things. The Long Clan is easy to deal with.” Jiang Li smiled. “The Tianyuan Dynasty has its own rules—strength reigns supreme. You have to learn to play dirty, to break the rules. You have to adapt to the local customs.”
“You’re the Human Sovereign! With your overwhelming power, of course, you don’t have to fear anything!” Qin Luan grumbled, only to be reprimanded by Yuan Wuxing.
Jiang Li wasn’t offended. “Then let me give you a demonstration. Right now, I’m just your friend in Great Zhou—Huang Li. A genius, just like you, a first-grade Golden Core.”
As Jiang Li spoke, the unfathomable aura around him vanished. To others, he now appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary cultivator. Even Yuan Wuxing could only perceive him as a Golden Core cultivator, with a dense and high-quality core. He could tell Jiang Li’s core ranked within the top three grades of Golden Cores, but he couldn’t determine the exact grade—only Soul Formation cultivators had the ability to discern that.
“Watch carefully and learn.” Jiang Li truly restrained himself to the limits of a Golden Core cultivator, avoiding the use of any abilities beyond that level.
“Where does the Long Clan’s third son usually hang out?”
Qin Luan thought for a moment. “I severely injured him, so he should be bedridden. But considering the Long Clan’s wealth, they’ve probably healed him with elixirs. If he’s not bullying people in the marketplace, he’s most likely on some arena stage picking fights. I ran into him in the market when he was trying to abduct a girl.”
Jiang Li nodded. “Then let’s check the marketplace. Wuxing, you’re a Nascent Soul senior, so just follow us from the shadows.”
Being called a “senior” by Jiang Li nearly scared Yuan Wuxing out of his wits.
Jiang Li led Qin Luan and Song Ying downstairs while Yuan Wuxing silently followed.
“Cover your face,” Qin Luan reminded Song Ying. He knew she was stunningly beautiful, and in a place like Longyin City, that could easily cause trouble.
Though she had been inexperienced before, after the Long Clan incident, Qin Luan had learned the importance of keeping a low profile.
Song Ying gently draped a white veil over half of her face and used a wide-brimmed straw hat to cast a shadow over the rest. This way, no one would pay too much attention to her appearance.
“By the way, why is Song Ying here? Did she just happen to arrive in the Tianyuan Dynasty and then coincidentally run into you?” Jiang Li asked, puzzled.
Although the truth was vastly different from what Jiang Li had suggested, Song Ying wasn’t about to admit she had followed in Qin Luan’s footsteps all the way to this chaotic land. So, she simply nodded.
“Oh? And here I thought you liked me and were chasing after me,” Jiang Li teased.
Qin Luan was completely stunned. After their experience in the Mysterious Mystic Realm, he had assumed Song Ying had feelings for him. Now, it seemed like he had been overthinking things.
Song Ying smiled sweetly at Jiang Li, but secretly clenched her delicate fist inside her sleeve, ready to hit him.
Since Jiang Li was limiting himself to Golden Core abilities and not using his divine sense, he didn’t notice Song Ying’s hidden fist.
The marketplace was bustling with vendors shouting their wares. Jiang Li wandered back and forth several times but saw no incidents of bullying—only plenty of pickpockets and counterfeit goods.
He couldn’t help but wonder how Qin Luan and Song Ying had managed to run into an attempted abduction the moment they arrived.
“Looks like the Long Clan’s third son isn’t here. What’s his name again?”
“Long Sanshui. He has two older brothers—Long Dajin and Long Erhuo.”
“…The Long Clan has some cultural awareness, at least. They even named their kids after the five elements.”
“Yeah, when I first heard their names, I almost thought my master was Long Sanshui’s father.” Qin Luan nodded repeatedly—only to feel a kick from Yuan Wuxing in the shadows.
Long Sanshui was, in fact, at an arena, looking smug and triumphant.
Having just recovered from his injuries, he was eager to vent his frustration and had set up a fighting stage.
“Here are ten mid-grade spirit stones! Who wants to come up and take a beating?” Long Sanshui stood proudly at the center of the stage, exuding a sense of absolute arrogance.
Jiang Li could tell at a glance—this guy’s late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation was purely built on pills. He was doomed to be a ninth-grade Golden Core failure at best.
But hey, the Long Clan had money.
“I’ll go!”
A late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator stepped up—his foundation was solid and far stronger than Long Sanshui’s.
Yet, he was quickly overwhelmed by Long Sanshui’s wild, uncoordinated attacks. The poor guy ended up on the ground, receiving a brutal beating.
“Feels great!” Long Sanshui laughed, tossing the spirit stones at the fallen cultivator and telling him to scram.
“This bastard is using spirit stones to buy human punching bags,” Qin Luan muttered.
“Twenty mid-grade spirit stones! Who wants to come up and get beaten?” Long Sanshui raised the stakes, and the crowd immediately understood—the higher the spirit stone reward, the worse the beating.
Yet, plenty of people were still eager to step up.
“Me, me, me! I can take a beating!”
“I shouted the loudest!”
“I’m a Golden Core cultivator!”
Amidst the shouting, Jiang Li’s voice was the loudest of all. The crowd turned in shock—what was a Golden Core cultivator doing among Foundation Establishment stage fighters?
With a Golden Core opponent, Long Sanshui naturally chose Jiang Li.
“I have one condition,” Jiang Li said as he stepped onto the stage. “Pay me the spirit stones first.”
Without hesitation, Long Sanshui tossed the spirit stones over. He wasn’t worried about Jiang Li running off—there were Nascent Soul elders nearby, and a mere Golden Core cultivator couldn’t escape.
Jiang Li weighed the spirit stone pouch in his hand, then tossed it back to Long Sanshui.
Long Sanshui caught it, looking confused.
“If twenty spirit stones can buy a Golden Core cultivator willingly taking a beating, then surely they can also buy a Foundation Establishment cultivator getting beaten up by a Golden Core cultivator. Makes sense, right?”
Jiang Li smiled as he spoke—then suddenly lunged forward and started pummeling Long Sanshui.
“Stop!”
A Nascent Soul cultivator roared in fury, preparing to kill Jiang Li on the spot.
Jiang Li seized Long Sanshui as a hostage, hiding behind him like a slippery rogue. “If you dare touch me, I’ll kill him! Let’s see whose life is worth more—mine or the Long Clan’s third son!”